2 thoughts on “Guest Post at DestiKNITions”

I visited your blog because I just read one of your Clare Delacroix books; and when I finished and Madeline was happily installed in her Welsh castle, the eBook went on to say that you had a blog and as there was knitting in the name, I thought I ought to visit.

I learnt well before my age reached double figures, but it was one of those skills that got dropped from my repertoire in adulthood. Then a couple of years ago, my thirty-something friends started going broody and I thought it would be nice to knit something for them! My specialty seems to be striped baby jackets, but I’m getting a bit tired of them, so the next Mum will probably be receiving a hood to keep baby’s ears warm during the winter.

Like you, I have more than one project on my needles, but I haven’t got as many as you do! There’s an ongoing mitred baby blanket which is my fall-back train knitting when I don’t have anything more pressing to do. It needs about two more weeks of commuting to finish the mini-squares and then it needs a border. It’s been on the needles for about 2 years so far!

I’m currently working on “Warm All Winter” which is a cowl/hood/balaclava combo. It should keep my head warm when the wind whistles up Gracechuch Street in the City of London in the middle of winter. It has supplanted the mitred baby blanket as a train project for the moment and so far I haven’t dropped the cable needle – particularly when it’s got stitches on it!

Then I have two cardigans on the needles. One needs a sleeve and a half and I’m just taking a rest from it. It was supposed to be finished by about now. Maybe I will aim for spring instead. The other cardigan has run into problems and I think I’m going to have to frog the sleeve I have started in the round and knit it flat instead.

My Ravelry projects page (I’m HelenEdithUK) shows a few more projects as I have a blocking queue. Finding somewhere to pin out a scarf or a shawl and leave it undisturbed until it’s dry is challenging in a house where active cats live. We’re going to try to make space in the back bedroom and shut the door on it. It really must happen as one item in my blocking queue is a rather ambitious beaded lace shawl and I want to wear it in less than 2 weeks time when I’m going to be attending the big London knitting and stitching show at Alexandra Palace.

My lace knitting has come a long way and I’m now on the point of knitting Marianne Kinzel’s “Daffodil Design”. I’d like to get to Herbert Niebling, but I may get to Sharon Winsauer first. Her “Heere Be Dragone” is calling me. He needs some lovely laceweight yarn though. That stuff is awfully expensive, but as with your experience with Noro, I get a lot of hours of knitting out of it, so I think there’s some justification in there somewhere. I’m doing “Daffodil Design” in DK not lace. I fancy it that way as it is probably going to be a throw; and I have trouble knitting fine lace yarns in the winter as my hands get too rough.

There! That’s a lovely reply to your blog – at least I hope so. Those who aren’t interested in knitting will undoubtedly find it way too long!

I’ve hopped over to Ravelry and friended you. Very excited to see the tatting shuttles in your projects. My grandmother taught me to tat when I was about 10. I still have the piece of edging I made under her instruction, as well as all her shuttles. I just don’t remember quite how to do it. One of these days, I’ll dig it all out and learn again… And LOL on your blocking queue. I haven’t blocked my Irtfa’a shawl yet for similar reasons – although I have a curious poodle instead of cats who investigate such things.

Glad to hear you enjoyed Madeline’s book. That Rhys just stole my heart right away. :-)